


my sweet affliction

by vineasphodel



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bottom Harry, Coming Untouched, Dom Harry, Dom Louis, Dom/sub, M/M, Oral Sex, Other, Rimming, Rough Sex, um idk what else to tag this as really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 11:43:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1185829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vineasphodel/pseuds/vineasphodel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis Tomlinson has hit rock bottom. Between his breakup with long term girlfriend, Eleanor, and struggling to pay rent, Louis is at a loss. His job at the run down local cafe isn’t enough anymore and if he planned to stay in University, he has to come up with something fast. After his final breakdown, Louis meets a filmmaker named Niall who offers Louis to star in some of his films in exchange for some cash. In desperation, Louis accepts but soon comes to realize Niall missed out on one important detail about his work and now has to work alongside gay pornstar, Harry Styles.</p><p>
  <b>**HAITUS**</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	my sweet affliction

**Author's Note:**

> ok so i'm pretty sure someone else has come up with an idea like this that is 10000x better but I just thought I would give it a go. feedback would be nice and happy valentines day lets hope harry gets the d :) 
> 
> also i know this chapter was kinda ehh but that's just because i really needed to give as much back story to it as i can so i can get to the good stuff so please bear with me

The alarm clock on Louis' phone rang at exactly seven o’clock as usual. With a groan, his eyes barely flitted open and by god, he did not want to get up.

It was Monday and that meant university, but that also meant he would be working overnight at the local coffee shop. And, of course, that _also_ meant he would have to go straight to class the next morning. It was a never ending cycle and Louis was not only emotionally exhausted, but physically as well. His shoulders and arms were killing him from washing too many dishes, the soles of his feet felt like they were going to fall off because he didn’t have a car and there were dark rings around his eyes from lack of sleep.

( When Louis announced he wanted to go to university, his mother at the time, had said no problem. (This was of course, after several attempts to convince her. Honestly, he thought she was joking when he asked the last and final time and she just nodded. Needless to say, Louis’ eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets) His sisters' cried, which as expected, because their big brother was off to do “big things in the world." All Louis really wanted to do though, was study. He wanted to travel, see the world, get out of Doncaster no matter what the cost because he didn’t really see himself going anywhere. Working at Toys R Us was fun while it lasted and it was where he met his girlfriend, Eleanor, but he wanted something different. Louis wanted a change in his life and wasn’t sure how to do it or what he wanted exactly, but university was a start.

The only problem was, Louis did not think everything through. The apartment he found was too far away from the Institute of English Studies and Louis thought that the cafe around the corner of his new home would be sufficient enough to earn some cash, but it wasn’t. Not at all. It was affordable at first although the space wasn’t that great, but Louis thought he could suck it up and everything would be fine because he was on his own now and that was kind of what he needed. Or at least he thought he did.

Louis was barely able to pay the first months rent and was struggling with the second when Zayn offered to throw in some cash. Zayn was a Literature major, but was crazy good at art, didn’t know what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Louis met him during the first week of classes; Zayn was quiet and intimidating, but if he had an opinion, usually Louis found himself agreeing. Somehow, they hit it off, Louis was the one that offered they should go get a cup of coffee one morning. Zayn agreed and it just became a daily thing for them.

The thing about Zayn was ---- he was rich. He was completely, _filthy_ rich. During one afternoon on Louis’ day off, they grabbed a bite to eat together a few blocks from the university and Louis expressed his distress because he didn’t know who else to talk to. He couldn’t tell Jay, his mother, because she would flip and demand that her “baby must come home” but Louis was at a loss and he was extremely freaked out.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he groaned, sinking deeper into the table, resting his elbow and placing his head in his hand. “I can’t go back to Doncaster, I can't drop out and everything and I don’t know what to do, honestly.”

Zayn nodded and took a sip of his coffee, looking thoughtful. It was one of the things Louis liked about him, but it also annoyed him to no end because he was trying to get some advice here and all Zayn was doing was _nodding_ and looking like he was getting his facial expressions down for a fucking Vogue photoshoot.

“How much was it you said?” he asked, placing his cup back down and that was when Louis took notice of the coffee ring atop of his napkin.

“Just this months. But, like, I don’t want to ask my mum for it. She thinks I’m doing so well and I don’t want to disappoint her and come running back home.” He shook his head, stress level on overdrive and there Zayn was, looking cool as a fucking cucumber, as always.

“Yeah, but how much is it? I could give you the cash. You won’t have to owe me anything back, it’s no big deal.”

Louis blinked at him for a long time, trying to decipher if he was taking the piss or not before his blue eyes reduce to slits. He sat up straighter, his arms coming down onto the table with his lips in the thin line. “You’re not serious?” he pointed his spoon at Zayn accusingly, and for the first time since Louis met him, Zayn was smiling, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly and he even let out this short and breathless sounding laugh. Louis shook his head now because he couldn't believe it and he set his spoon down before he brought his mug up to his lips again.

“I’m just trying to help you out, mate. I’m sure I won’t miss the extra pocket money.”

Oddly enough, Zayn became his best friend after that, which was weird because Louis felt like he was just mooching off of him. And that he was only associating himself with Zayn because he was rich _and_ giving him money. Louis was literally living every selfish bastards dream and he couldn’t help but to feel so terribly guilty about it.

The first time Louis invited him over to his apartment, Zayn shook his head as he set his stuff down on the kitchen table.

“I don’t know how you could live here, mate. Especially with what you’re paying.”

Louis realized that Zayn might be right. The rent that Liam was charging him with was a little ridiculous. Louis' eyes took in the small apartment, biting his lip ---- it was dingy and the paint that covered the walls were chipped. There were dirt stains that wouldn’t come off, heat was a little hard to come by, there was a draft in one of the windows which would most likely explain why it was freezing cold most of the time and why he had to hit the faucets at least three times before he got clean running water.

The thing was, Louis thought the pay was reasonable at the time and he continued to think so. But maybe he needed a second opinion and since he valued Zayn’s, this practically changed everything. Really, he thought he was living the average life. But, Louis guessed not.

That was also probably when cracking down on Liam meant that he would crack down on Louis in return. Zayn strongly suggested that Louis should at least talk to Liam since he was the landlord and most of these problems should be fixed or Louis was obliged to report him, at least that was what Zayn said. (Really, Louis didn’t know anything about these sorts of things and he would be broke and pretty much dead if it wasn’t for Zayn helping him out with pretty much everything)

Liam became especially annoying after that one night where Zayn thought it would be a good idea if he could just crash at Louis' for the night. He was not only fed up with Liam, but fed up with Louis for not saying anything about fixing up the apartment to him, but in reality, Louis just didn’t have the time. He was exhausted and the last thing on his mind was fixing up the apartment because he had other matters to worry about. School and work ultimately came first, he just needed money to pay off anything he needed to pay off and _fixing the apartment_ was the only thing on Zayn’s mind? In an attempt to, of course, help him out again, Zayn charged over to Liam’s room and knocked sharply against the door with his fist and Louis swore to everything he loved, this was going to be the last day he lived there. He'd be homeless, for god's sake.

This was probably again, one of the first times Louis had ever seen Zayn genuinely pissed off and Liam looked like he was a deer caught in headlights when he opened the door to Zayn's sharp rapping. Liam's face had looked priceless though, looking wide eyed at Zayn just _yelling_ at him in the middle of the hallway. Louis could have sworn the bloke was about to wet himself because god, Zayn did look pretty scary when angry. Liam’s cheeks were flushed in embarrassment, standing there in nothing but his pajama pants with tiny pink elephants on them and Louis wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t for Zayn pointing them out in his rant.

Long story short, Liam did in fact fix the heating and the dirty faucet, but that was pretty much it. Louis didn’t really mind and Zayn seemed quite satisfied with the ending result, but it was then on that Liam seemed to come around asking if he ever needed anything. (This only occurred when Zayn happened to stop by. Twice was a coincidence and when the third time struck, Louis was perfectly aware of what was going on.)

If Zayn was able to convince Liam that Louis could skip out on a few months worth of rent, that would have been the day that Louis bowed down to Zayn and deemed him a god. But no matter how infatuated Liam was with Zayn, Louis knew it was impossible and simply would not happen, no matter what the cost. And the first few times Zayn offered to pay it off, Louis at least _tried_ to stop him, but Zayn insisted. They made a deal that if Louis needed it, Zayn would chip in and pay off whatever Louis didn’t have because his job at the cafe was paying shit, although it didn’t seem like a terrible idea to Zayn (because that fucker can _spend_ ), Louis felt impossibly guilty. Zayn paid off about three months worth and that was when Louis drew the line, Zayn seeming slightly surprised and a bit distressed, but it was time that Louis put his foot down.

It was time that he took control of his own responsibilities.

He expressed to Liam that he needed a little more time paying off the first month and that was fine. It was okay, because Liam was cool with it and explained that he could just pay for two months worth next month.

But now that became a frequent occurrence and Louis is hitting that four month mark. )

Another alarm goes off at seven twenty and Louis knows its time to get up or he is going to miss the tube. He sighs before getting out of bed, throwing on a tee shirt and trousers. And as an attempt to fight off the cold, he plops a beanie atop of his head before slipping on his sneakers and grabbing his bag and coat to start the morning.

And to give himself an addition to the start of a very stressful morning, Liam is waiting outside Louis’ door just as he opens it to leave.

“Christ, Liam!” Louis jumps slightly, taking a moment to lean in the doorway and his hand is coming to pinch the bridge of his nose because he knows what’s about to come.

“Sorry to startle you, mate. Just wanted to remind you about the rent.” Liam is smiling as per usual and Louis fights off a groan.

Right. Rent. How could he forget? It’s been three months and honestly, Louis was surprised Liam hadn’t kicked him out yet. He would come around his apartment asking if he remembered and Louis would tell him that he just didn’t have it this month. But it was all adding up and he just couldn’t do it.

“Yeah, right, I’ll work on it. I have to go, though,” he trails off, pressing his lips together as he tries to shimmy his way out from in between the door and Liam’s build and is rather successful, waving over his shoulder as he finally strolls past toward the entrance door.

Chill London air rustles through the flimsy jacket and thin fabric of his tee shirt. But finally Louis feels like he could breathe. Lately, the weight of every little thing has been crushing down on him and he is so tired, he literally feels like he hasn’t slept properly in days.

Barely catching the tube, he slips into a window seat, adjusting his bag onto his lap before reaching for his phone he had slipped into the front pocket of his jeans before he left. He stares at the screen for a long time, rubbing his eye with his free hand.

_Got you a tea. See ya in class -Zayn_

_Please give a ring later :) xx_

_Love you! xxMum_

_I think we should talk?_

_Hey -El_

It has already been roughly forty five minutes since Louis has been awake and the day was stressing him out to a T. He texts Zayn back and calls his mother, but leans his head back against the seat, wondering how to respond to Eleanor. He thumbs over the screen of his cell, bottom lip between his teeth.

She thinks they should talk. It’s not a total surprise to him. Since Louis had left Doncaster, they lost touch, saw each other less and Louis was always busy. So, he had no time to call or anything. He would promise her that he would call her after work some days and when the time came, he climbed in his bed and crashed, wearing all of his clothes from the start of the day. And then his alarm would blare at seven the next morning to do it all over again.

In his opinion, Eleanor breaking up with him was long overdue.

He decides to ignore the text until he can come up with something to say other than that.

University is only a couple of blocks away from the station. Zayn is sitting on the front steps with a cup of coffee in one hand, a sketch pad in the other and a pen or pencil (Louis couldn’t tell which, his eyes were far too sleep deprived) in his mouth. When he looks up, his warm eyes are bright and Louis half smiles as he approaches him.

“You’ll never guess who texted me last night.” it is the first thing he mutters out in a drawl, rolling his eyes and Zayn extends a hand out for Louis to receive his cup of tea.

“El?” he mumbles, his hand coming up to remove the pen (now Louis can make it out properly) from between his teeth. “What did she say?”

“She said she wanted to talk.” Louis presses his lips into this forceful kind of sarcastic smile, and the ghost of a smirk is etched into the lines at the corners of Zayn’s mouth.

“Sucks, mate.”

Louis runs his hands over the top of his head, letting out an exasperated breath. Zayn stands to full height, stuffing his sketch pad into his bag and throwing the strap over his shoulder before fixing Louis with a raise of his brow.

He's expecting Louis to elaborate, Louis knows, but Louis just shrugs because he doesn't really know what to say about the matter. "I saw it coming." He finally says and sounds so terribly tired.

Zayn licks his lips in thought before he finally nods in agreement. "Yeah, 'suppose."

"It is what it is."

The conversation about Eleanor evaporates quickly and Louis is partly relieved. Zayn is silent as they walk back toward the classroom, which leaves room for Louis to contemplate and reevaluate his relationship silently.

It wasn't that he wasn't _happy_ being with Eleanor, it just wasn't that he was _completely_ devoted to her. They had worked together, they were friends and somehow they just--got together?

It wasn't the best relationship in the world, there weren’t any arguments or excitement, but it was literally just--

Nothing. Louis didn't know how else to explain it. It was okay, it was plain and that was it. There was nothing else.

After class, Zayn decides he wants to go out for lunch and Louis convinces him they should go to the cafe he works in across town. He shrugs in agreement and the two take the tube back down. Louis aggressively vocalizes how distressed he is and Zayn consoles him with a comforting pat on his back. But the fact of the matter was, Louis didn't know what to do and it was frustrating.

Upon walking into the cafe, the pair was met with the crisp scent of mocha and a hint of chocolate. Louis sighs, grabbing a table for the two of them and slid into one of the seats, hoping that he wouldn’t be seen just yet. Lately, whenever he walked in early, he was asked if he could start early and Louis would say yes because that meant cash and that also meant he would have to stay later and that meant _more_ cash so how was Louis supposed to say no to that when he was pretty much desperate?

After about four cups of tea on Louis’ side, a half a cup of coffee on Zayn’s, and literally four stories into their assignment for next week, Zayn fixes him with a look, concern darkening his eyes.

“Are you sure you’re alright this month, mate? I can help you out again, you know I don’t mind--”

“Zayn,” Louis stops him, holding up a hand. “Really, appreciate it and all that, but seriously. I’m fine.”

Zayn doesn’t seem to buy it, but he shrugs, folding his arms. “So, you never did tell me what classes you’re taking next term.”

Louis blinks and almost doesn’t say anything, Zayn catching this by default and looks almost frustrated. “Please, do not tell me.”

“I just don’t know how to pay for it!” Louis blurts out in defense, leaning back in his chair and he could feel Zayn’s disappointment.

And that was another thing; if Louis could barely pay rent, how was he supposed to pay for University? It wasn’t as if he could just fucking conjure pounds like some fucking magician and if it was that easy, Louis would be out of debt. But he wasn’t and that was the problem and he felt terrible, terrible for himself and terrible for Zayn because he was giving him a fucking pity party and that was the last thing that Louis really wanted.

He stands from the table, slinging the strap of his bag over his shoulder. “I have to get to work, though. Don’t worry about it, mate, really. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Zayn doesn’t say anything, pressing his lips together and nodding before grabbing his things from underneath the table and heading off toward the tube, bidding Louis a farewell.

 

*** * ***

The rest of the night couldn’t have gotten any worse.

Louis, at this point, is _this_ close to throwing a fucking tea cup at someone. He is irritable, his limbs hurt him and he’s really sick and tired of serving the drunks and stoners that decide to clamber into the cafe during the late hours. They were usually rude and although Louis would have loved to tell them off, he couldn’t because he had a job to keep, giving them dirty looks as he sets their orders down upon their tables. The best he could hope was that they would leave sooner or later because the faster they left, the faster Louis could actually close up shop and go home.

They were have supposed to have closed about an hour ago and Louis is becoming irritable. He's narrowing his eyes at the group of five high dropouts who smell heavily of marijuana from behind the counter, wiping down the coffee machine in the hopes this would be his last and final attempt and no other customer will come filing in.

George, the cafe owner, is buttoning up his coat and Louis bits back his tongue from asking him (or rather demanding) that he should get a raise. Louis runs his hands over his face in an attempt to calm his nerves. His cell buzzes from the inside pocket of his jeans.

_Are you free? -El_

Louis peers down at the screen and contemplates on responding or not. He bites his lip, peering from George, to the group of stoners and back up to the boss and this time catches his eye. The old man raises his eyebrow at him in question and Louis waves his phone at him as if in a question of his own.

“Make it quick,” George narrows his eyes, his hands falling to his sides and taking Louis’ place behind the counter just as Louis makes his way outside.

Goose pimples follows immediately after the cold air brushes against his arms, Louis shivering slightly. But he dials Eleanor’s number either way, holding the receiver up to his ear. It only takes three rings for her to answer, chatter coming from the other end and Louis’ brow furrows.

“El?”

She doesn’t respond right away, the line seeming to crackle and when she does finally respond, she seems far away as if he is on speaker.

“Hey, sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

They are silent for a while and Louis is slowly growing impatient.

“You wanted to talk?”

“Yeah, Louis, look--” there comes a clap of laughter in the background and Louis vaguely wonders if she is at a party.

“I think we should take a break. We hardly ever see each other and we barely even talk.”

Louis pauses for a moment, staring blankly at the pavement beneath his feet. He discussed this morning with Zayn that he knew the breakup was coming, but it didn’t stop him from at least feeling like it was partly his fault. Which, like, it is.

“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe a break would be good for us.” He’s unsure whether he can detect her smiling or not. His chest feels heavy partly with guilt and something else he can't really place. It might have had something to do with the fact Louis, well, thought he and Eleanor would be together for a little while longer?

“I’m glad you understand, Louis. Really, I do.” there is another set of laughter and chatter mingling in with the sound of her voice and Louis barely catches her next words. “I have to go. Maybe I’ll text you soon?”

“Yeah, right, sound’s great.” 

She hangs up without saying goodbye, but Louis isn’t all that bothered. He slips his phone back into his pocket, chewing at the inside of his cheek with his eyes fixated at the ground and it takes him several moments before he moves back into the shop. As much as Louis hates to admit it, at least that's one less thing he has to worry about right now.

When he enters, George is fixing the same group of kids a fresh brew of coffee and Louis is beyond stressed knowing he will have to at least spend another half hour cleaning it out again. He takes a seat in one of the unoccupied chairs, his eyes are stinging and he feels like he is going to explode. His jaw is twitching and although he knew that his relationship with Eleanor wasn’t going to last forever, it still pretty much sucks.

Slowly but surely, everything was going to shit and his life isn’t what it once was. Maybe Zayn was right and heading back home was his only option. He could see his mother and sisters and maybe even get his job back at Toys R Us and see Eleanor more often, get her back too. 

But the thing was, it was too ordinary, too plain, too simple. Louis needed something different. Wasn't that the reason he moved to London in the first place?

And that was when the door opened, the small bell going off and Louis turned, his annoyance on full display. 

“We’re closed.” he stated flatly, his eyes pierced in annoyance.

The stranger that walked on in turned, his brows raised, cheeks slightly flushed from the chilled air and his blonde hair a bit disheveled. He doesn’t look that much younger than Louis, a bit shorter maybe and this kid looks like a fucking Beach Boy for Christs sake.

He points to the door. “It says open. Plus, all I want is a cuppa.” His accent is thick and Louis knows he’s not from London or at least did not live here for long.

Immediately, Louis’ eyes meet George’s as to get some kind of confirmation to kick the fucking kid out. George just shrugs though, buttons up the rest of his coat and Louis watches in disbelief how his boss just grabs his hat from the hanger. “You take care of it.”

Louis’ cheeks flush in anger, fed up and his hands clench into fists. He could feel the blonde’s gaze on him, Louis clicking his tongue once George leaves the shop, leaving Louis pretty much by himself. To close up. Again.

Fuck all.

“I don’t get paid enough for this,” Louis grumbles underneath his breath and is finally relieved once the last group loitering in the back leaves. He strides toward the counter, grabbing a mug as the blonde kid follows suit. He leans against the space and messily toys with the paper texture of a few pounds between his fingers.

Louis watches him, but with a look of annoyance and this kid literally fucking grins back at him, teeth shining and all.

“So, uh, don’t get paid enough, yeah? If you could be doing something else and get paid twice as much, would you?”

Louis pauses from pouring the hot cup of coffee into paper mug with an un-amused raise of his brow. “Oh. You’re one of those, then. Try to recruit people into shady stay-at-home businesses.” bitterness falls from his tongue and this guy _smirks_. Louis is beginning to hate him. Still, he finishes his cup of coffee as instructed--milk with no sugar--and hands the boy back the paper cup of coffee, folding his arms in front of his chest. “And no I don’t want your card.”

The corner of this bloke’s mouth twitches and he lets out a laugh that’s just a little too loud for the small shop. “Actually, I’m a filmmaker. I do short films. Ranging from about a half hour to maybe forty five minutes. Sometimes shorter, usually depends. And that could easily be a thousand pounds in your pocket, erm--” he pauses, shifting a little to make out Louis’ name tag. “--Louis.” he smiles again, bright with straight teeth. Louis still looks un-amused, unsold at this blokes little description. The guy shrugs his shoulders a bit dramatically.

“Ah, alright. I won’t give you my card, then. I’ll just give you my number instead.” He grabs one of the napkins and digs out a pen from the inside of his jean pockets, scribbling onto the white fabric before fixating Louis with another smile. Louis blinks, looking down from the piece of paper back up to the stranger, eyebrow cocked as if he is waiting for a catch, but of course he wasn’t going to get one, not until he called.

That was, _if_   he decided to call.

Louis notices the name underneath. _Niall Horan._

“Just give a call if you need some quick cash.” It is all Louis is left with, Niall placing a few pounds on the counter and flashing Louis one last glance before the door of the shop closes behind him with the sound of a bell.

Louis doesn’t hesitate to turn the sign back to ‘closed’ when Niall leaves.

And he also doesn't throw away the napkin Niall gave him either.


End file.
